The present invention relates to an automatic belt-shaped material connecting apparatus.
In tobacco binding operation of a cigarette manufacturing machine, for example, a paper web should be supplied without a break. To attain this, a number of reels each wound with a paper web are provided so that a reel with a new or virgin paper web can be set in position before the remainder of a paper web on a reel in service is reduced to zero, that is, before the in-service reel is emptied. In this case, the leading end of the virgin web is connected to the in-service web by means of a paper web connecting unit, and the in-service web is cut off. Thus, the used and virgin paper webs are connected. Generally, a paper web feeding apparatus can be fitted with two reels so that when the remainder of a paper web on one reel becomes insufficient, a virgin paper web can be fed from the other reel. After connecting the virgin web to the in-service web, the paper web connecting unit cuts off the latter. When the remainder of the new paper web becomes insufficient after the replacement, another virgin paper web is supplied from another reel which is set in place of the empty reel in the feeding apparatus. The new virgin web is connected to the in-service web by means of the connecting unit, and the in-service web is then cut off. This operation is repeatedly performed so that the paper web can be continuously supplied to a winder. Packaging materials are connected in like manner in a packaging material feeding apparatus which is used to feed packaging materials, such as paper, to a packaging machine, in a cigarette manufacturing machine.
In connecting and cutting the paper webs or other belt-shaped materials alternately supplied from the two systems as described above, the one paper web is fed through its corresponding feed path, an the other paper web through another feed path. Each feed path is defined by upper-course feed rollers, guide roller, feed belt, and lower-course feed rollers. Each paper web is cut by means of a cutter which is formed of a stationary knife and a rotating knife, arranged between the upper-course feed rollers and the guide roller.
In connecting the virgin paper web to the paper web in service, the leading end of the virgin web is delivered to the lower-course feed rollers in a manner such that it is retained on the feed belt by suction, while the in-service web is cut, by means of the cutter, in a position where its trailing end overlaps the leading end of the virgin web. Thereupon, the leading end of the virgin paper web is connected to the in-service paper web between the lower-course feed rollers. Paper web cutting mechanisms of this type are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,898,900 and 3,847,046 (corresponding to Japanese Provisional Patent Publication Nos. 49-77280 and 49-77282, respectively).
In these conventional cutting mechanisms, however, the paper web feed paths are provided individually with the cutters. Accordingly, these mechanisms are subject to drawbacks including complicated construction and increased components, as well as low operating efficiency.